Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 08/11/2009
Despite some overlap,
Strut's
ZE 30: ZE Records Story 1979-2009 complements the 2003 expanded reissue of
Mutant Disco -- a two-disc comp released by the then-revitalized
ZE label, presumably out of circulation at the time of this set's release.
Strut didn't come up with a definitive look at one of the maverick labels of the late '70s early '80s. Instead, it chose to go rather deep while throwing in a few of the singles that received a great deal of rotation in underground clubs (such as
Was [Not Was]'
"Tell Me That I'm Dreaming," oddball disco-funk at its baddest, unless you count the same band's
"Wheel Me Out"). Only the most knowledgeable DJs and disco fanatics have known about some of the inclusions, like
Sympho-State's brisk and elegant
"You Know What I Like," the B-side of a one-off arranged by
Carlos Franzetti (a
Fania and
Kid Creole associate) that features
Leroy Burgess (
Black Ivory,
Logg) and
Christine Wiltshire (
Aural Exciters,
Musique). A couple cuts -- the long version of
Suicide's
"Dream Baby Dream" and the
Larry Levan remix of
Kid Creole & the Coconuts'
"Something Wrong in Paradise" -- appeared just a few years prior on
ZE's
Mutant Disco, Vol. 3: Garage Sale. Late
ZE signing
Michael Dracula, from Glasgow, justify their presence with a dread-filled fun-time collision of
ZE vets
Lydia Lunch,
Cristina, and
the Waitresses.
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide